3.
4.
Development of Pangea
The Gorgonopsids
5.
Sea-levels
2.
Seed Ferns prospering
Permian Period
Lasting 47 million years from approximately 299 to 252 million years ago, this was the last period of the Paleozoic Era.
1.
The Lystrosaurus
The Great Dying
References
2. Seed Ferns Prospering
Appearing in South America, Antarctica, Australia, and S Africa, the “seed fern,” or Glossopteris, was successful in resisting glacial conditions, making it plentiful in the Permian period. They are also proof of the joining of these land masses into Pangea, a large supercontinent, during Permian time.
3. The Gorgonopsids
Inostrancevia are an example of a giant gorgonopsid that can reach 11 feet in length. With long, sharp incisors used to slash or stab their prey, they were a family of sabre-toothed therapsids.
5. Fluctuating Sea-levels
Looking at the Permian strata will show the rise and fall of the sea-level, associated with climate change. Fluctuations with large magnitudes and short durations can be the result of episodes of glaciation. Global sea-level events are seen when it falls below the level of the continental shelf, also called lowstands. Numerous of these occured during the epochs of the Permian, leading to gaps in the geological record and evolutionary turnovers, species diversification and extinction events in shallow marine animals.
References
“Permian Period.” The Columbia Encyclopedia 2018: n. pag. Print Khasanov, R, and Yu Balabanov. “Paleogeographic Causes of the Formation of Mineral Deposits on the East of the East European Platform in the Permian Period.” IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science 516.1 (2020): 12008. Web. Sussex Business Solutions . (n.d.). Permian period - Q-files - Search • read • discover. https://www.q-files.com/prehistoric/early-life/permian-period#:~:text=During%20the%20Permian%20Period%20(299,ruled%20supreme%20in%20the%20oceans. Permian period—298.9 to 251.9 MYA (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/permian-period.htm Ross, A, C., Ross, & RP, J. (1999, July 26). Permian Period | Plants, Animals, Extinction, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Permian-Period/Mass-extinction
4. Development of Pangea
Panthalassa, the world's ocean, surrounded Pangea, which was most of Earth’s land area spread from pole to pole in a C shape. It was completed by the middle of the Early Permian Epoch with its fusion to Angara during the Uralian orogeny (mountain-building process). It caused great seasonal fluctuations and only portions received rainfall throughout the year. Since the shoreline was also reduced, there was less for coastal marine life to inhabit.
1. The Lystrosaurus
Certain pelycosaurs evolved into Therapsids by the mid-Permian. Cynodonts, a type of therapsid, later evolved into mammals. Lystrosaurus also had jaws with different shaped teeth for various functions. They were most likely warm-blooded with legs positioned more vertically. As a powerful digger that nested in burrows, it was able to survive the Great Dying.
Major Event: The Great Dying, Permian-Triassic Extinction Event
While scientists aren't sure how the largest mass exctinction event happened, which wiped out 70% of land plants and animals, and 95% of marine life-forms, there are various inferences. For instance, Trilobites became extinct, which thrived since the Cambrian period. While it could've been an asteroid collision, the release of excess greenhouse gases that caused drastic and lethal climate change might've also been at fault. A possibility is a series of volcanic eruptions over a vast area of Siberia that led to the atmosphere receiving a rise in carbon dioxide. It is also thought that reservoirs melted frozen methane into the atmosphere from polar ice, permafrost, and below the ocean floor.
What the World was like during the Permian
During this period, the climate became hotter and drier as the formation of Pangea created more arid conditions towards its interior. From 32% in the Carboniferous, oxygen levels in the atmosphere gradually declined to around 26% in the Permian. In northern tropical regions of Pangaea, conifers, ginkgo, and other drought-resistant plants became dominant. In the dry scrublands and deserts, reptiles multiplied into different types like anapsids, synapsids and diapsids. Synapsids, who later evolved to mammals, included animals like the pelycosaurs. Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus, types of pelycosaurs, were 10 feet long with sails made of skin that are inferred to act as temperature regulators.
The Great Dying
Emma Rodriguez
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Transcript
3.
4.
Development of Pangea
The Gorgonopsids
5.
Sea-levels
2.
Seed Ferns prospering
Permian Period
Lasting 47 million years from approximately 299 to 252 million years ago, this was the last period of the Paleozoic Era.
1.
The Lystrosaurus
The Great Dying
References
2. Seed Ferns Prospering
Appearing in South America, Antarctica, Australia, and S Africa, the “seed fern,” or Glossopteris, was successful in resisting glacial conditions, making it plentiful in the Permian period. They are also proof of the joining of these land masses into Pangea, a large supercontinent, during Permian time.
3. The Gorgonopsids
Inostrancevia are an example of a giant gorgonopsid that can reach 11 feet in length. With long, sharp incisors used to slash or stab their prey, they were a family of sabre-toothed therapsids.
5. Fluctuating Sea-levels
Looking at the Permian strata will show the rise and fall of the sea-level, associated with climate change. Fluctuations with large magnitudes and short durations can be the result of episodes of glaciation. Global sea-level events are seen when it falls below the level of the continental shelf, also called lowstands. Numerous of these occured during the epochs of the Permian, leading to gaps in the geological record and evolutionary turnovers, species diversification and extinction events in shallow marine animals.
References
“Permian Period.” The Columbia Encyclopedia 2018: n. pag. Print Khasanov, R, and Yu Balabanov. “Paleogeographic Causes of the Formation of Mineral Deposits on the East of the East European Platform in the Permian Period.” IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science 516.1 (2020): 12008. Web. Sussex Business Solutions . (n.d.). Permian period - Q-files - Search • read • discover. https://www.q-files.com/prehistoric/early-life/permian-period#:~:text=During%20the%20Permian%20Period%20(299,ruled%20supreme%20in%20the%20oceans. Permian period—298.9 to 251.9 MYA (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/permian-period.htm Ross, A, C., Ross, & RP, J. (1999, July 26). Permian Period | Plants, Animals, Extinction, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Permian-Period/Mass-extinction
4. Development of Pangea
Panthalassa, the world's ocean, surrounded Pangea, which was most of Earth’s land area spread from pole to pole in a C shape. It was completed by the middle of the Early Permian Epoch with its fusion to Angara during the Uralian orogeny (mountain-building process). It caused great seasonal fluctuations and only portions received rainfall throughout the year. Since the shoreline was also reduced, there was less for coastal marine life to inhabit.
1. The Lystrosaurus
Certain pelycosaurs evolved into Therapsids by the mid-Permian. Cynodonts, a type of therapsid, later evolved into mammals. Lystrosaurus also had jaws with different shaped teeth for various functions. They were most likely warm-blooded with legs positioned more vertically. As a powerful digger that nested in burrows, it was able to survive the Great Dying.
Major Event: The Great Dying, Permian-Triassic Extinction Event
While scientists aren't sure how the largest mass exctinction event happened, which wiped out 70% of land plants and animals, and 95% of marine life-forms, there are various inferences. For instance, Trilobites became extinct, which thrived since the Cambrian period. While it could've been an asteroid collision, the release of excess greenhouse gases that caused drastic and lethal climate change might've also been at fault. A possibility is a series of volcanic eruptions over a vast area of Siberia that led to the atmosphere receiving a rise in carbon dioxide. It is also thought that reservoirs melted frozen methane into the atmosphere from polar ice, permafrost, and below the ocean floor.
What the World was like during the Permian
During this period, the climate became hotter and drier as the formation of Pangea created more arid conditions towards its interior. From 32% in the Carboniferous, oxygen levels in the atmosphere gradually declined to around 26% in the Permian. In northern tropical regions of Pangaea, conifers, ginkgo, and other drought-resistant plants became dominant. In the dry scrublands and deserts, reptiles multiplied into different types like anapsids, synapsids and diapsids. Synapsids, who later evolved to mammals, included animals like the pelycosaurs. Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus, types of pelycosaurs, were 10 feet long with sails made of skin that are inferred to act as temperature regulators.